The Court of Appeal has decided that Marks and Spencer did not infringe copyright in “typographical arrangements of published editions” by copying and distributing press cuttings. The Newspaper Licensing Agency (NLA) licenses companies to make copies from newspapers. A licence fee of 2.066p per copy was agreed between the NLA, the Institute of Public Relations … Read more
Jeanette Winterson has won her case against Mark Hogarth, the Cambridge academic who registered 132 writers’ names as domain names. Mr Hogarth registered the domain names jeanettewinterson.com, /.net and /.org. Ms Winterson first found out about this when she discussed the setting up of a website with her publishers. According to Ms Winterson Mr Hogarth … Read more
The widely reported payment of £300,000 by Shropshire County Council in settlement of a claim by a teacher arising from alleged stress at work has highlighted this burgeoning area of litigation. The National Union of Teachers has announced that it alone is currently processing 150 such claims. There are distinct advantages for the employee in … Read more
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has secured two key rulings in its ongoing battle against unauthorised on-line use of its members’ recordings. 1. MP3.COM On 28 April Judge Rakoff granted partial summary judgment against MP3.com Inc. in relation to its use of RIAA members’ recordings. The dispute related to MP3.com’s “My MP3.com” service, … Read more
In a decision which will be welcomed by ISPs, the US Supreme Court earlier this week upheld a decision last year that the ISP Prodigy was not liable for defamatory bulletin board messages. Alexander Lunney, a boy scout, sued Prodigy after an imposter posted “vile and obscene” messages in Lunney’s name on a Prodigy bulletin … Read more
